Computer security is becoming a crucial issue in modern business. Firewalls are often used to protect a system or a network. A firewall is usually a set of related programs, located, for example, at a network gateway server, that protects the resources of a private network from users of other networks. An enterprise with an intranet that allows its users access to the wider Internet typically installs a firewall to prevent outsiders from accessing its own private data resources. A potential problem is that there is a new breed of applications, typically referenced to as leak applications, that leaks data out of a system without the user realizing it. These leak applications typically defeat firewalls.
What is needed is a system and method for detecting and stopping malicious applications. The present invention addresses such a need.